Megyn Kelly Doesn’t Get Why White People Wearing Blackface Is Offensive: ‘What Is Racist?’

Megyn Kelly Doesn’t Get Why White People Wearing Blackface Is Offensive: ‘What Is Racist?’

If you ever wondered why former Fox News star Megyn Kelly has had a hard time attracting an audience as an NBC morning talk show host, look no further than this Tuesday morning segment.

In a segment about culturally offensive Halloween costumes that featured an all-white panel including the daughters of George W. Bush and Joan Rivers, Kelly appeared absolutely baffled over why white people donning blackface was such a big deal. She also seemed to believe that black folks wearing “whiteface” was seen as equally offensive.

“What is racist?” Kelly asked the panel. “Truly, you do get in trouble if you’re a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character.”

After Melissa Rivers noted that “polite society” seems to know where the lines are drawn — such as dressing up as a Nazi — Kelly then brought up an instance where a white ‘Real Housewives’ cast member dressed as Diana Ross.

“She dressed as Diana Ross, and she tried to make her skin look darker than it really is -— and people said that was racist,” Kelly huffed. “And, I don’t know, I felt like, ‘Who doesn’t love Diana Ross? She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day.’ I don’t know how that got racist on Halloween.”

Needless to say, Kelly took a lot of heat online over her comments and segment, especially as it seemed to harken back to her Fox News days when she asserted that Santa Claus is white and devoted wall-to-wall breathless coverage fearmongering over the New Black Panthers.

Watch the clip above, via NBC News.

[H/T Tommy Christopher]

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the founder/publisher of Contemptor and a contributor to The Daily Beast. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.

One thought on “Megyn Kelly Doesn’t Get Why White People Wearing Blackface Is Offensive: ‘What Is Racist?’

  1. I look forward to the day when a white person dressing up like Diana Ross isn’t considered racist Now, dressing up like a slave, who, along with millions of others, over the course of approx. two and one half centuries, built the financial wealth of this country. My grandcestors were the foundation of this economy and everything else from the straw in your morning coffee to the SUV parked in the home that was mortgaged by the bank that their bent backs, clever hands, creative minds created.

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